For nearly two decades, Courtney White deposited her earnings into a savings account at Chase Bank. A former sergeant with the Markham Police Department, White worked overtime shifts to build a financial cushion, carefully structuring her account to require in-person transactions—no debit card, no checks—as an added layer of security.
But in the fall of 2022, that cushion vanished.
White, 48, received an alert: Insufficient funds. Confused, she visited her local Chase branch in Chicago’s Calumet Heights neighborhood, only to discover her account—once holding $87,000—had been drained over the course of a year.
Daily withdrawals, sometimes multiple times a day, had siphoned off her life savings. The transactions, made in person at Chase branches across the city, had gone unnoticed—until there was nothing left.
“If you look at all of the withdrawal slips, you can clearly see the difference in handwriting,” White said in an interview. “I don’t know how they couldn’t catch that.”
But when she filed fraud claims with Chase, they were swiftly denied. The reason? White hadn’t reported the fraudulent activity within 30 days of receiving her account statement—one of the bank’s policies for disputing unauthorized transactions.
The decision, White said, has left her financially devastated.
“I worked my butt off for this money,” she said. “That was my son’s tuition. That was our future.”
A Pattern of Fraud?
White’s case is not an anomaly. Records from the Chicago Police Department show that multiple customers at the same Chase branch—located on 103rd Street—have reported unauthorized withdrawals over the past few years.
NBC 5, which first reported White’s story, found that at least a dozen customers had also been scammed or robbed while using the branch’s ATM.
Despite this pattern, Chase has declined to comment on whether it is investigating potential fraudulent activity at the branch.
“The safety of our employees and customers is our top priority,” a Chase spokesperson said in a statement. “We encourage all customers to review their monthly statements and report any suspicious activity as soon as possible.”
The Bank’s Response—and a Growing Backlash
White, who spent her career helping victims of fraud and crime, now finds herself on the other side of the system. She has repeatedly appealed Chase’s decision, arguing that the bank failed to flag the unusually frequent withdrawals—especially given her long-standing account history.
“Somebody should have recognized that this was an outrageous amount of transactions every day,” White said. “There should have been some sort of alert.”
Adding to her frustration, Chase has refused to provide surveillance footage that could show who was making the withdrawals. The bank cited the length of time that had passed before the fraud was reported.
Consumer advocates say cases like White’s highlight the vulnerabilities in banking policies that place the burden on customers—even in cases of clear impersonation.
“Banks have sophisticated fraud detection systems, but they don’t always work as they should,” said John Breyault, vice president of public policy at the National Consumers League. “It raises serious questions about how financial institutions handle cases of identity theft, especially when a pattern of fraud is evident.”
How to Protect Yourself from This Type of Fraud
White’s case serves as a cautionary tale for consumers who assume their money is safe simply because it’s in a bank. While impersonation fraud like this is difficult to prevent entirely, financial experts say there are steps you can take to minimize your risk:
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Check Your Bank Statements Regularly – Banks often require fraud to be reported within 30 to 60 days, meaning the sooner you catch it, the better your chances of recovering lost funds. Set a calendar reminder to review your statements at least once a month.
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Set Up Transaction Alerts – Most banks allow customers to receive real-time notifications for withdrawals or transfers above a certain amount. If White had enabled alerts, she might have caught the fraud earlier.
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Secure Your Personal Information – Fraudsters often use stolen or fabricated identification to impersonate victims. Avoid sharing personal details unnecessarily, and check your credit reports regularly for signs of identity theft.
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Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – While White’s case involved in-person withdrawals, many fraud cases stem from online banking breaches. Enabling 2FA can make it significantly harder for scammers to access your accounts.
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Know Your Bank’s Fraud Policy – Policies vary from one bank to another. Some offer extended fraud protections beyond the standard 30-day window, particularly for customers with high-value accounts. Contact your bank to understand what protections are in place.
The Cost of Inaction
For White, the financial loss has had immediate consequences. She was forced to withdraw her teenage son from private school. Her once-secure savings are gone.
Her story has also struck a nerve with customers who fear they, too, could be left vulnerable under similar circumstances.
“When you deposit your money in a bank, you expect it to be safe,” she said. “Now, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust a bank again.”
White continues to fight for the return of her savings, but Chase has held firm in its decision.
As her case gains attention, it raises broader concerns about whether banks are doing enough to protect customers—not just from fraudsters, but from their own policies.
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